


The One Good Thing

by Counselor



Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Agent Washington (Red vs. Blue) needs a hug, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-28
Updated: 2019-12-28
Packaged: 2021-02-24 21:08:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22004485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Counselor/pseuds/Counselor
Summary: Agent Washington dreams that he’s lost the person closest to him, and it breaks him. It’s a good thing that she’s there to snap him out of it.
Kudos: 13





	The One Good Thing

It was a sunny day in the capital city of Armonia. Washington sat at a table inside the mess hall, the afternoon sunlight filtering through the window and onto his plate, which was by now almost empty of food. He had stayed behind at the central encampment with Caboose, Sarge, Donut, Lopez, and Doc, while Carolina, Tucker, Grif, and Simmons went out on a routine scouting mission with a platoon of Feds and Rebels. Washington thought with pride of how far both sides of the former civil war had come in regard to being accepting of the other army’s troops.

He was jerked awake from his thoughts when a familiar red-armored hand clapped him on the shoulder. “Hey, Wash! Mind comin’ down to the war room once ya get yerself finished up there?” Sarge asked gruffly. “Not at all. I’ll be right there,” Washington replied, scarfing down what was left of his meal and following closely behind Sarge, Donut, and Lopez, while Caboose and Doc trailed slightly behind him.

Soon enough, everyone was in the war room. Washington saw Grif and Simmons, battered and leaning on one another for support. Tucker’s armor was stained with blood. A lot of it. But he looked in better shape than the other two, so Washington knew it wasn’t his. The three soldiers looked like they had just fought off a whole platoon of space pirates. The generals were present, but they were unusually silent as they watched the group.

Caboose practically ran to Tucker to give him a hug. Rather than dodging it or telling Caboose off like he always did, Tucker just silently accepted this hug, letting Caboose’s big arms crush him in an embrace. Sarge walked over to Grif and Simmons, patting them both on the shoulder. “How’d the mission go, men?” Sarge asked. The orange and maroon soldiers quickly shared a glance before averting their eyes to the floor, staying silent.

Washington tensed up. “Where’s Carolina?” he asked. Tucker just shook his head, a quiet, choked sob escaping him. Grif and Simmons both looked at Washington with dreading expectancy. “WHAT. HAPPENED? Report, Captain Tucker!” Washington practically yelled. Tucker softly pushed Caboose to the side as he walked up to Washington and wrapped his arms around him in a weak hug. He put his head down on Washington’s shoulder. “Wash. They got her. She’s gone,” Tucker croaked, his voice now no more than a trembling whisper.

Washington clenched his fists. “They captured her?” he asked. Simmons and Grif both shook their heads no. “Did she leave without saying goodbye again?” Caboose asked, sounding very disappointed. “Wash, she’s-“ Tucker’s voice cracked. He pulled away to stand in front of Washington. “Dead. Dead and gone,” he managed to choke out before walking out of the room, looking like he might collapse.

Caboose patted Washington on the shoulder. “It’s okay. She’ll come back... like Church always does.” Suddenly, a projection appeared on Simmons’s right shoulder. He must have been recovered and implanted into Simmons. Church sighed. “I’m sorry buddy... not this time,” he said in a voice that sounded almost too melancholy to be Church’s. Simmons and Grif walked away silently, with Sarge following them in stunned silence. Doc and Donut managed to get Caboose to come with them, promising they would do something fun. He had never seen Caboose unable to make a positive out of a situation.

General Doyle walked to the door, waiting for the other general. Kimball walked up to Washington. “We’ll... give you some time to process the news,” she said, her voice sounding broken. He watched as she left the room, Doyle putting a reassuring arm around her shoulders as they walked away. Washington fell to his knees as soon as they left and all the doors to the room were closed, tears running down his face too fast to try stopping them. He cried out, laying his anguish and sorrow bare in a primal, guttural scream, drowned in the weight of itself.

————

“Carolina!”

She woke up in a cold sweat, hearing Washington’s yell. His voice sounded choked and hurt. What if something bad was happening to him? The thought no sooner crosses her mind than she was running out of her room, pistol snatched from her nightstand in hand. She rushed down the hall and stopped before the door to his room. Carolina slowly opened the door, pistol clutched to her chest. 

She only saw Washington lying face-down on his bed, choked sounds muffled by his pillow, which he clutched to his face. She lowered her pistol, setting it on his desk as she sat on the edge of his bed. She figured it was another of his nightmares. Most of them were about Epsilon, she knew, because he had told her about what horrors he saw in his dark dreams.

She reached over to lay a hand on the back of his neck. “Hey, Wash, it’s okay. I’m here,” she said softly. The whimpering and choked sobs quieted a bit, and softened until they couldn’t be heard anymore. Washington suddenly stopped clutching the pillow, bringing one hand to the back of his neck, laying his hand on top of hers.

They knew the shape of each other’s hand well, and Washington turned over, still grasping her hand. “Carolina?” he asked, his voice brittle, his eyes wide as he looked at her in disbelief. “What, is this your first time meeting me?” Carolina asked with a tiny smirk, amused at the deer-in-headlights way he was staring at her. Expecting a usual witty reply or sarcastic remark from Washington, she was surprised by him wrapping his arms around her tightly and resting his head on her shoulder, his breathing shaky.

“...Wash? Are you okay?” Carolina asked, now much more concerned. “I’m fine. I’m just glad you’re okay,” he replied, holding her protectively. “Why wouldn’t I be?” she asked, confused as to why he was acting this way. Washington pulled his head away from her shoulder and gazed seriously into her eyes. “I thought that I’d lost you,” he said quietly. 

Carolina understood fully, since her nights had long been haunted by horrible visions of Washington dying in the worst ways possible. She normally swallowed her fear for the worst to happen to him, pushed it to the back of her mind because Agent David Washington was invincible to her. But she knew that wasn’t really true. Carolina imagined the same thought process playing out in his mind about her, and she wanted to protect the one person who cared about her the absolute most at all costs.

“Don’t worry, I’m safe, and you’re safe. The Reds and Blues are safe. It’s okay,” she said, tousling his blonde, spiky hair with her free hand. Washington’s arms relaxed a bit at the familiar touch, and he let the tension in his muscles abate, his breathing calming. “Mhmm,” he hummed in agreement. He laid back down in bed, still holding her hand.

————

𝘐’𝘮 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘰𝘵. 𝘐 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘦.

That was the first thought that came to Washington’s mind after he had woken up screaming.

The second was:  
𝘚𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺, 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵?

It had been answered quickly then with a resounding yes, and he had held her like he would never see her again. Any other person would think he was paranoid for feeling this way, and maybe he was. But Carolina understood, and that’s why he couldn’t lose her. She went to get up, but her hand was held in place tightly. “Wash...” she said, exasperation overridden by her amusement at seeing him cling to her. “Do you want me to stay a while?” she asked, her smirk quickly replaced by a look of concern.

“Please,” Washington replied, wanting so badly to just know that she was real and right there for a bit longer. Carolina nodded with a small sigh and leaned with her back to the wall, still sitting on the edge of his bed with his hand in hers. Washington glanced over at the doorway to his room to see Tucker standing there, a wide smirk on his face as he watched the two of them.

He looked on as Carolina fixed Tucker with a glare that dared him to say anything, and Tucker just laughed quietly, holding his hands up in surrender. “Is Agent Washingtub okay? Is it a yelling night for him?” a voice Washington recognized as Caboose’s called from down the hall. “He’s good, Caboose. It’s just another one of those nights,” Tucker replied, turning back to gaze at Washington sympathetically.

“I’ll... um... get going now,” Tucker said, stepping out into the hall. “Night, Tucker,” Carolina said, giving him a small smile. “Night, Carolina,” he replied before closing the door. She grabbed an extra pillow from the end of the bed, placing it between her head and the wall as she started to drift off into sleep. The beginnings of a smile traced Washington’s face as he began to fall asleep once again, feeling more secure that he could face anything his dreams threw at him.

As Washington succumbed to sleep once more, his last thought was that nightmares weren’t completely bad. They made him really contemplate where he was, and be thankful that everything had happened to him exactly the way it had. To feel as if he’d lost it all, only to regain everything the instant he woke up, made sure he knew the pain of the worst losses so that he would try his hardest to make sure they never happened.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭.


End file.
